Greek Bearing Gifts
by Liberated Dragon
Summary: Loki has been described as being like fire! You let it loose, and it can destroy everything! You carefully control it, and it can be very useful. However, Asgardian culture tried to change the fire, and in the process smothered it! Someone thinks that that fire just needs a new environment, so it can be allowed to be useful fire. Warning, I like Thorki, so that may come up later!
1. Chapter 1

This is my attempt at a story that has been circling in my head for the last month. Problem, its more a concept at this point. I don't have a plot thought out yet. But, if I wait till I come up with one I might forget everything, so I want to put down what I have! Maybe, it'll get my brain moving and I'll come up with some ideas.

Warning: Possible spoilers for Dark World!

Usual disclaimer: I don't own any of these characters, wish I did, but I don't. They are owned, I believe, by Walt Disney, Marvel, and Rick Riordan!

**Greek Bearing Gifts**

The Asgardian Prisons were clean, cleaner than one would expect for a dungeon. But who cared when you didn't expect to be there for long. It had been rather easy to get in, just get captured with a bunch of rebels. They knew the trick had been done before. But then, why not do the tried and true. Besides, who would expect someone to do the same trick twice?

Well, that's what they were doing! They just waited for the guards to walk away in their way too predictable routine. Then, with just enough sparks of static lightening, and a little shape-shifting into an elephant (which was a tight fit, but doable), they carefully pushed the electrically weakened corner pillar out of alignment to break the connections for the energy wall. Then, they just slipped out.

The rest of the plan was slowly sneaking through the castle, charming guards into falling asleep. If that didn't work, they used the guards' surprise at having their companions collapse around them to calmly knock them out. What they were about to do, required no interruptions.

As they ran, a set of green eyes scanned the building, sensing, reaching out. He smiled smugly. He darted his eyes to a pair of gray, storm blue eyes. And was answered with a knowing smirk! So far so good!

They continued to the central throne room. Hoping that was where their objective would be! The guards outside were a little more difficult, their minds a little stronger against sweet words. But, their armor did conduct electricity quite easily and they crumpled to the floor and the unconscious bodies were gently shifted out of the way.

They opened the doors and walked the steps of the throne room as if they were supposed to be there, stopping at the base of the throne and staring into the eye of the furious Odin Borson.

"What are you doing here? What have you done with my guards?"

A blonde girl, the apparent leader of the group, stepped forward as her companions fell to their knees. Her gray blue eyes lowered in respect, "Your guards allowed us in, since all we wished to do was meet the great Odin Borson and his equally great sons!"

She didn't fail to notice the slight startle at the mention of the "plural" sons. Obviously, he would think her a fool. Better that he think her a fool!

"I'm afraid your knowledge of what has happened here is incomplete! My youngest son is dead! He died in battle! Protecting his foo…famous older brother!"

"Oh," she frowned, looking up sadly into his one eye, "then we are too late!"

"Too late?" Borson's eye squinted in confusion, "Too late for what?"

The young man behind her stood and stepped forward, brushing his black hair out of his sea-green eyes.

"We had a gift for him!"

"Yes," she interrupted, glaring over her shoulder, amused affection dancing in her eyes. She turned to Odin, "we had a gift for him. We had heard he was a brilliant scholar." She noted the slight turn of the lips at the compliment, but she frowned and continued, "But, we heard he was quite weak on the field of battle."

She inwardly smiled, as the smile left the wizened face to be replaced with a sneer. "My son was not appreciated for his strength. So what if he didn't rush into battle like a mindless bilge snipe. He was better than that!"

"Better than his older brother, Thor! That is not what I heard!" she was interrupted again, except by the tall blonde boy behind her. He smiled as he rubbed his hands together, electricity sparking between his hands and reflecting off his blue eyes.

Odin's one blue eye snapped to the blonde, suddenly having the king's undivided attention.

One of the other girls sidled up to the blonde boy, wrapping her hands around his arm, placing her head on his bicep. She brushed her chocolate brown braids out of her tanned face. She smiled flirtatiously, her changing eyes looking straight into the old god's eye.

"Yes, I heard Loki was never a good Asgardian, never as good as Thor!" she purred, her charmed voice, dripping sweet and seductive like honey, "It seems appropriate that Thor would just throw him into the abyss. Why would he pay attention to a monster?"

Odin snarled and a blast of golden energy ricocheted from Gungnir towards the couple. The blonde dodged to the side, dragging the pretty Cherokee with him.

Another girl, the third girl quietly standing in the back, reached out her dark hands, her gold eyes concentrating on the precious spear as it was yanked from the startled god's hand and flew into her own.

Lightening crackled across the room, barely missing the confused god as he stepped aside, striking the wall behind him. The god spun, looking at the cracked wall, and turned to stare at the blonde lightening wielder, a smug expression on his old face. "Your aim is just as pathetic as my dear brother's," he teased, spitting the word "brother" like an insult.

"You don't know what he was aiming at!"

The one blue eye darted over to the green eyes of the dark haired boy, who's smiled rivaled the gods as he reached out, and the weakened aqueducts in the wall released their load. Water exploded, flooding into the room, knocking the god over, slamming against walls, and nearly slamming the massive doors shut.

The god sputtered as the water forced him under, the water forming a current dragging the god towards the water-controlling demigod. Suddenly they saw a flash of gold and green in the water and suddenly a smaller, dark form fought out of the current.

The Asian boy, who had quietly watched the situation from the back of the room, yelled, "He's going to get away!" Suddenly, he was gone, and an elephant stood in his place, charging through the water in an attempt to beat the escaping god to the open door.

The sea demigod, continuing to try to control the currents smashing through the room, watched the form swerve for the doors. He gave up on controlling the water and dived, using his powers to push his body through the water like a torpedo. As he met the form under the water, a great splashing sound erupted and the boy came up struggling, moving back towards the higher ground of the throne. The elephant trumpeted towards him, hooking his tusks into the net that the boy was struggling to pull from the doors it had been draped between. The elephant dragged the net, and the boys still clinging to it, to the throne's stair, where the contents of the net revealed … a salmon. A large beautiful thing, of sparkling gold and green!

The Son of Poseiden grabbed the net and glared down at the floundering fish.

"Hey jerk!" the struggling slowed as the fish stared up at the furious boy, "My mother lives in New York!" and with that the boy brought his fist down on the fish's head, knocking the thing out!

Everyone stopped for a second to catch their breath, momentarily stunned that it had actually worked. Then they gathered around their target, who with a glow of green and gold had turned to his true form. They stood around the admittedly handsome god with pale skin and long dark hair. His now green and gold riding coat restored to him.

"Is he ok?" the African girl asked, her gold eyes looking down at him in concern.

"Oh, he's fine," the blonde girl responded. "I'm actually surprised seaweed-brain could actually knock him out. He must have been because he was a salmon at the moment!"

The blonde girl leaned over the trickster god, pulling a gold and silver earring from her pocket. The earring, composed of a coin and a chain, its links shaped like an undulating serpent with a head, bit into the upper cartilage of the unconscious god. While simultaneously the small coin attached to the serpentine chain, magically attach to his ear lobe. The eyes of the owl on the coin momentarily glowed red and then faded.

Annabeth snorted, turning to smirk at Percy, "As a trickster, he should have remembered, not to trust Greeks bearing gifts!"


	2. Chapter 2

Greek Bearing Gifts

Chapter 2

"Well, what do we do now?" Annabeth scowled at her boyfriend. "We're going to have to carry him."

Percy rubbed the back of his head sheepishly, "Sorry, didn't think that far! But then, are you sure we could have gotten him to walk there?"

She sighed, "Not really, Mom's earring is supposed to keep him from misbehaving or turning on us, but it won't make him do anything good either. He has to choose to do the right thing."

"Well, guess we carry him."

All eyes turned to the broad-shouldered Asian. He glared for a moment, and then sighed, "Fine, Frank's beast of burden at your service."

He shouldered past them to throw the god over his shoulders. Frank was actually shorter than Percy, but he was broader, making it easier to carry the god, whom Percy was sure, was a little taller than himself.

They ran out the door, knowing that there were other guards in other parts of the palace, guards that hadn't been charmed asleep by Piper, or knocked out. Guards that would have heard the noise of their fight with the God of Mischief and would come running.

They charged through the palace, water still streaming around their ankles as they ran toward the main palace door. They could hear the thundering of feet of the guards change to splashing as they came to where the water had been released. The footsteps only paused a moment before they continued on through the water.

Percy paused, feeling them run through the water, and with a flick of his mind, like pulling a rug, yanked them off their feet. He could hear the crash of multiple armored bodies falling into the water.

As the sound of colliding bodies ricocheted through the palace, Percy noticed that the noise seemed to be rousing the unconscious Norse God. He just hoped he didn't wake up before they made their escape.

But then, mischief doesn't always happen when it's convenient, and with a start, the god brought his knee into a surprised Frank's gut and pushed off, sending himself to skid into the water on one knee.

"How dare you!", as he stood, tall and imposing, "I will not be man-handled this way!"

Percy held his breathe for a moment as the gods hands reached out, a motion he assumed was for the summoning of magic… nothing happened.

Well, not quite nothing. Nothing to Frank, but something to Loki. He hissed, grabbing at the earring that was now glowing red. He yanked at the thing, as if he could pull it off. It wouldn't budge.

He then turned his glare to Percy, fire green eyes burned with rage and hatred, "What did you do?"

He once more attempted to reach out, and once more nothing came out, but the earring glowed red. Loki hissed, his hand shaking, as he was obviously trying to ignore the earring and still complete the spell. But, he seemed stymied, like no matter how he willed it, no magic would come forth. He didn't see the spear flying towards him.

Percy sighed, and reached out, grabbing the furious, yet distracted god, to the water covered floor, while sending a wave into the balcony, where guards had retreated in hopes of avoiding the swirling water.

"What have you done?" the god screamed, grabbing Percy by the front of his shirt and standing, lifting Percy off the ground. Loki's shoulder shifted, as if ready to throw Percy across the room, but, once again, the earring glowed red and the god froze up and eventually had to drop Percy as he grabbed at the jewelry.

The glow stopped and once again, another spear was streaking towards the god. Loki screamed in infuriated rage and swept his hand out sending the spear spinning away from him and harmlessly bouncing off a wall.

Loki stood there in confused shock as he looked once more at his shaking hands. Percy guessed he was figuring out the rules of Athena's earring.

Percy, once more, grabbed the god, and yanked him around a wall, and into a hall, as he heard the coming sound of more guards. How many were there?

"Stop dragging me!" Loki screamed.

"Well, if you stop standing in the middle of the battle, he wouldn't have to drag you around like an amateur."

Annabeth came running up to the two of them, glaring at the furious god. Everyone else was busy fighting.

"We need a distraction," she yelled over the din. "Where is Odin?" she demanded.

Loki bit back defiantly, "Why do you care? Is this what this is all about? Him?"

"Where is he?" she yelled. The earring glowed, as Loki's face twisted in discomfort and protest. He held his breathe, his body curling in on himself as he fought through the pain.

"He's in the dungeon. The old ones!"

The earring stopped glowing, allowing Loki to uncurl, and give Annabeth his full hate-filled attention. He started as she darted back around the wall and yelled at the guards.

"Your king is in the old dungeons! And I'm assuming those are below ground. With all this water flowing in, if you don't get moving, your king is going to drown!"

There was a collective gasp heard, and the thunder of multitude of armored bodies moving through the palace. Annabeth darted back around the wall.

"We just lost half of them, but we still have the others intent at getting at us." She turned her attention to Loki, "Or maybe they want you more!"

Her lips curled in a satisfied smirk, "Yeah, I'm pretty sure they'll want you more than us! They aren't going to be nearly as merciful, after attacking their king.

"Merciful?" Loki sneered.

Percy snorted, "You're still alive!"

"You probably won't be for long, when they get their hands on you again." Annabeth countered. "But, my mother, Athena, wants you alive!" She narrowed her eyes, and smirked. "Ah, the choices, stay and get killed, or come with us strangers, and hope we mean it when we say we want you alive. But then, we could have killed you while unconscious."

Percy smiled, smacking the god on the shoulder, which earned him a shocked stare, "Well, come with us and you'll at least live a little longer. You can figure it out after that."

Loki's eyes darted between the two demi-gods, as the battle blared behind them.

"Fine!"

The god darted in the direction of the main entrance. Annabeth and Percy chased after him, calling the other demi-gods, who had bottle-necked the guards in the small entrance of the hall. The others charged after them.

They came into the large pillar filled main entryway. Percy watched as water and guards flooded into the room, the water swirling around the pillars, creating eddies and swirls. The guards immediately charged them, but were stopped by a wave of water that washed them away. Guards on the higher stair landing were blown over by Jason or knocked over by Frank's hard, yet blunt-ended arrows. Piper was yelling that they drop their weapons, which at least weakened their grips, so Hazel could yank the less-precious metal weapons from their hands.

Loki hands reached out, magic sweeping other guards back, knocking them out. He smiled, relishing in his magic.

Percy grabbed Loki, again, dragging him behind a pillar. The god yanked himself out of the demi-god's hands, snarling at him, but decided to stay behind the pillar, as he noticed the other demi-gods also move behind the pillars.

"So," he smirked at the young demi-god, "have you figured out how we're getting out?"

And, like that was the queue, the huge heavy entrance gate was blasted inwards. The explosion was soon followed by a large triangular shaped metal battering ram, smashing through the damaged door. A jet of fire streamed through the room, as a golden reptilian head entered after the battering ram.

Loki stared as the Greek trireme pulled out from the door, allowing the door to crumble to the ground. The dragon head continued to fire at the guards, who immediately scattered to avoid the flames.

A dark head of hair looked over the edge of the bow, dark eyes in a pale face stared down at them.

"Move it! I think the mist kept us covered till this point! They'll be coming!"

Percy smiled, "Yeah, yeah, keep your pants on. We're coming!"

Nico's head jerked back as if slapped, and grumbled, "Just get moving!"

Of course, Nico didn't need to say a thing. Frank had already turned into an eagle and grabbed Hazel, flying up into the ship as it floated above the courtyard. Jason grabbed Piper and Annabeth and with a gust of wind carried them up into the ship.

Before he could attempt a levitation spell, Loki found himself surrounded by a large spout of water that carried him up into the ship. He landed with an undignified smack into the deck with the water controlling demi-god on top of him.

He looked up, and watched as a tanned boy with a crazy array of curly hair, leaned over him.

"Hey Percy, didn't know you had an older brother?" he laughed jokingly.

Percy was up and pushing the boy away.

"Leo, shut up," Annabeth yelled, "get us moving before their ships are in the air."

Leo darted over to his controls, and started to play with them. At least, that's what it looked like to Loki as the trireme slowly rotated in place, the dragon figurehead turning away from the palace. Then, he was nearly knocked over as the ship streaked off, away from the land and toward the distant water.

Annabeth ran out, pulling out what looked to be a compass. "Leo, turn the ship 30 degrees to the port side."

The ship tilted mildly as it turned the prescribed direction.

"O.K., just keep going straight, "she yelled.

Loki turned, watching as they sped toward a mountain side jutting out of the Asgardian sea. He couldn't help but smirk. He knew the portal was there, but it was a more difficult entrance to get to. But then, it was larger and higher up than most portals, but now more convenient than usual, since they were in a huge floating ship. He still wasn't sure where it went to.

The trireme shot through the invisible entrance, and everyone held on as they sped through space.

The ship suddenly erupted into a blue sky over an ocean of equal blue. Loki looked over the rail of the ship, and couldn't help but grimace at the familiar sight.

"Well," Percy stepped up beside him, watching the god from the corner of his eye, as he smiled dryly, "welcome back to New York."


	3. Chapter 3

Greeks Bearing Gifts 3

The trireme turned northeast traveling along the edge of the Sound and away from the New York skyline. Percy noticed that this seemed an obvious relief to their newly acquired God of Mischief. He figured he didn't want to be reminded of his absolute failure there. In this, Percy had no sympathy for him!

He had meant the punch he'd given the god. He'd been livid when he'd been told that they were going to go capture the destructive god, that Athena wanted him for a reason. But, as Annabeth had pain-stakingly gone over the plan to capture the allusive god, especially the god's surprisingly complicated psychology; he had to admit to feeling some sympathy.

He knew what it was like to not fit in, all the demi-gods did. How to have your own family look at you like you were a walking disaster in the waiting. How all the demi-gods tended to be diagnosed with ADHD, because their senses were set up t o watch out for the danger of a world that the rest couldn't see. Yeah, he definitely knew what it was like to not fit in.

That didn't mean he would trust the Trickster God!

Percy strolled over to his girlfriend, as he kept his eyes on the god's stiff back. The god seemed to be deep in thought, his eyes watching the disappearing skyline.

"Hey, what is the plan for him?" he asked his girlfriend.

Annabeth grimaced, "Redemption!"

"Redemption?" the god spun around, and gave the young woman an incredulous look. "Why would I want that?" He paused to look her up and down and then turn to look and the other demi-gods around him. "Why would I care for that from lowly creatures as you?"

He walked around, the deck, lifting his head, and glared down at them. "Why would I care?" His lips curled back as he turned on Annabeth, and sneered, "I was a king, before you mortals, yes, strong mortals, yet mortals, came along. I have no need for redemption from you."

"No," Annabeth smugly answered, "you were a pretense of a king. You could never come out and actually be a king on your own. You had to hide behind another's face. The very face, you claim to hate."

Loki snarled and moved forward to glare down at the small blond. Everyone, including Percy moved forward to intercede, but Annabeth held her ground and motioned with a hand for them to go back to what they were doing.

She smiled, her eyes narrowing in challenge, "You can't do anything! My mother's earring won't let you! And she is the one, who wishes to give you redemption! To see if a change of venue," Annabeth swept her hands around her, "might help you find your place. Be more useful!"

"More useful!" he yelled in her face. "Why would I care to be more useful to insects under my boots?"

"We may be insects to you," Annabeth countered, "but, you are an insect to my mother and her kin." She stepped forward, her face inches from the surprised god, "You can die. They cannot! They can be imprisoned, even cut up and they won't die! As long as man remembers them, they will continue to live on!"

Percy's watched the argument dissolve as the god turned and huffed away, to the farthest part of the ship and stares over the rail. He watched the god take deep breaths, his shoulders tense with repressed anger. He couldn't help feeling sympathy once more for the god. He'd been on the other end of arguments with his girlfriend, and they could be frustrating. And he suspected even more so to someone who treasured control and had now been thrown into events out of his control.

Percy once more walked up to his girlfriend. "Well, that went well!" he deadpanned in a whisper.

"He's going to have to learn his place," she snapped at him.

"What is his place?" he sighed, looking her in the eye.

Her shoulders slump and she sighed back, "I don't know."

"Then how are you going to teach it to him."

Annabeth stared out into space a moment and Percy let her. He knew as a daughter of Athena she had her moments of contemplation and it was just better to allow her the moment.

He felt the mild jerk as the ship began descending towards the beach of Camp Half-Blood. The motion seemed to bring Annabeth out of her reflection. She spun and walked to the middle of the deck.

"Everyone, "she yelled to the group, and those who could, moved, surrounding her. Loki chose to continue to ignore them as he stood looking over the rail of the ship.

"We are here, because my mother, Athena: Goddess of Wisdom and Battle, requested that we take on a task of acquiring one misbehaving God of Mischief from the realm of Asgard." Annabeth rotated to look at all her friends, "Her reasons are two-fold. One, she wanted us to capture him before he caused other problems, like he did in New York. Two, she believes that he can be redeemed and proven useful if placed in a different environment."

She paused, taking a breath, "Many of the different pantheons of gods tend to overlap, tend to take other gods and make them their own. This is the attempt now!"

Annabeth turned to Loki, who had turned to watch the speech, his chest heaving heavily as he watched with outrage at Annabeth's speech.

"You have a choice. You can go back and be imprisoned or killed for your attack on Odin. Or," she paused, "you can try your luck with us. Mother thinks you'll find us more suited to being what you are. And you may find yourself of more use with us."

"Really!" Loki snarled, fists clenched at his side as he glared at her again. "I was useful in Asgard. I don't know how many times I saved my buffoon of a brother. How many times I saved his worthless friends. Yet, they mocked me for it; they made me a villain in all the stories that came down to this realm. Even before I had ever done anything wrong!"

"But, we're not Asgardian," Percy interrupted. "We're Greek! Have you read our stories, our hero's tales? They're all tricksters! They all at some point had to talk their way out, trick their way out, or just deceive their way."

"Not all of us are Greek, Percy," Jason interrupted. "Some of us are Roman; we're probably closer to the Asgardians in our view of honorable combat. But," he paused to look the trickster in the eye, "we never turn down a good deception in battle that could save the empire."

"Sounds like you got smothered," Leo piped in. His hands came to life, fire dancing across his palms. "Sounds like they tried to control you too much and smothered the fire beyond usefulness." He closed his hands and the fire extinguished.

Percy, smiled at his friends, and paused to give an affectionate smile to his girlfriend, and turned to the suddenly quiet trickster, "Our goal here is to let you do what you're good at, while keeping you from causing any massive destruction."

"We just want Loki to be Loki!"


End file.
